Brothers To the End
by Lecklund
Summary: [Germany/Prussia] Ludwig has always been known as a stern man, but was he always this way? What made him change so much from his teenage years to how he is now? *Title is mostly related*


Ludwig struck most as a rather level-headed man that believed in rules as a way of keeping order amongst the people. He followed a strict, monotonous to some, daily schedule. Consistence was another thing he appeared to do well. At a glance, he may have even appeared one-dimensional to people, as he doesn't appear to pursue any kind of 'entertaining' activities.

But in all reality, there was a reason for that.

The young German used to be much more 'lively' than he appears to be these days. Sure, he still abided by rules much the same, but many would say he was less of a soldier and more like a 'real' human being while not on-duty.

Why was that?

It pained him to think back to the most painful day he had lived through in his life that happened so many years ago. He stood and gave a hollow, blank stare at nothing in particular as the memories of his past began to flood his mind.

* * *

_"Hey bruder~ Are you prepared __to face the awesome me at another round of Schere, Stein, Papier?"_

_Gilbert's blood-red eyes and devilish smirk suddenly flashed into Ludwig's line of sight. Instead of responding with a sigh like he would these days at his bruder's antics, he gave his older sibling a curious look, "Schere, Stein, Papier? Are you sure about that, Gilbert?"_

_"Of course I am! I thought you'd realize by now that I am an awesome champion at Schere, Stein, Papier~! Or, are you just scared I'll beat your Arsch at it for the third time in a row?"_

_"Nein! You only chose that stupid game because you know I'm not good at it."_

_Gilbert laughed in his usual half-cackle manner at his bruder's comment. Oh, he was much smarter than he looked, "Then why don't you suggest a 'proper' challenge, dear bruder~?"_

_Ludwig smirked slightly, holding in a laugh as he did so, "Pff~ I'd _hardly_ consider Schere, Stein, Papier a challenge, especially for someone like you with your 'levels of awesome' chart you made last week, Gilbert. What about something less childish for once?"_

_"What, like arm wrestling like the guys in the military do? Who'd want to do something as silly and pointless as that?"_

_Ludwig's smirk grew, and a hint of brother-like rivalry set in, "I'd like to do something as silly and pointless as that, bruder."_

_Now, it was the Prussian's turn to let that characteristic smirk stretch across his face, "Das ist ein Abkommen. Let's see who's stronger_

and_ more awesome~!"_

* * *

Most of his teenage years went by like this. Though his bruder was quite a bit older than he was, there were still the obvious signs of the natural love/hate relationship most brothers shared. Though as Ludwig got older and became less childish and more 'professional', his bruder had stayed as cocky and self-centered as always. Some would describe their bickering as an equivalent to that of a 'married couple' at times, but Ludwig still very much loved his bruder to death.

Though 'death' wasn't the right term for that event that was memorable… in all the wrong ways.

* * *

_"Nein! You can't do this, Gilbert!"_

_His hands gripped at the Prussian's uniform out of desperation and fear, "Luddy~ You know there's nothing I can do…"_

_"N-Nein… Nein, there _must_ be a way!"_

_Though Ludwig most likely knew how it felt, Gilbert's heart was crushed as he watched the tears stream from his younger brother's eyes. Making their bright blue colour appear even more prominent than before. The Prussian reached out a hand to rest it on Ludwig's cheek, "Es tut mir leid, Ludwig. I wish I could stay with my feet planted upon the Earth as much as you do. But there's nothing I can do to stop the inevitable…"_

_The blonde suddenly snatched Gilbert's outstretched arm and held it a few hairs from his face. He hung his head towards the ground as he choked out more sobs as his brother slowly but surely began to fade away into a plethora of sky-coloured particles. After a few moments, he managed to collect himself enough to spit out the only phrase he deemed suitable for the current situation, "Vor dem Tod sind alle gleich."_

_His white-haired sibling frowned at his brother's spiteful comment, "Nein, Luddy. Don't say such things. You know as well as I that there's no preventing whom it chooses to toll the bell for. My time is coming to an end. I have gone through a dissolution, and a rebirth. I suppose it's safe to say, that whatever force is out there, be it Death or God, it doesn't allow a third chance."_

_He sighed as his brother began to sob once again, "Luddy, look at yourself. You look so un-awesome right now…" He reached out with his free gloved hand and wiped away some of the tears that stained Ludwig's face whilst giving him a sad smile, "You can't possibly live on in my name if you're looking like that. Halt die Ohren steif, bruder. You've got a new weight on your shoulders, having to keep this awesome blood flowing. Don't disappoint me, or I'll come back to haunt you or something like that…"_

_"Bitte, joking about death as you're dying yourself isn't right, Gilbert…"_

_The Prussian sighed once again. He was almost gone now, the dissolution now almost at his upper chest, "Es tut mir leid again, bruder. But I am not dying. This is not Death. I'll always be with you, whether within culture, or language, or… or… even by blood. I'll always be here, just… not physically."_

_A horrible, strangled sound came from the German's throat as he gripped onto his dear brother for life, "I-It won't be the same~! What w-w-will become of Prussia? W-Will the Polish merely take it back? Is that it!? Will all of our efforts become WASTED in the end? __**You're mein bruder, Gilbert.**__ What the hell am I supposed to do when you're gone?"_

"_**Live.**__" He now placed both hands on either side of his brother's face as his last few moments were coming to a close, "This is a mad world, Luddy. But you need to live to carry on the name 'Beilschmidt', and to make the word 'Germany' mean something far more than JUST that. I… there won't be another tomorrow for me. But there will be many more for you. And I want you to understand that, and appreciate that fact."_

_The familiar figure had almost completely dissolved by now, his shoulders being eaten away by an invisible force in front of his own eyes. He reached for him, but his hands passed through nothing. His vision blurred by tears, he called out, "Bruder! Bitte, don't leave me behind! You… you can't do this!"_

_The faded individual closed his eyes and wore a relaxed smile as he said his final words, "You know how they say when you die, your life flashes before your very eyes?"_

_Silence._

_"Well, the only thing I can really see is when you were born all those years ago. You were a change for the better of the world. They may blame you for what you have done when it was not your own fault, but they don't understand that you are just… something else. Someone different from the rest. You made my life less lonely than it was after Mutter passed away just after you were born and we reunited with our Vater for the last time. And for that… I thank you from the bottom of this ink black heart I possess."_

And with those final words.

He had left his 'baby brother' behind, in a cruel, unforgiving world.

The young, heart-broken German called out for him.

He cried out for him.

But he was well-aware it was already too late.

Gilbert, the great leader of the once great Kingdom of Prussia…

Was gone.

* * *

The tall blonde hadn't realized the lone, cold droplet that had fallen down his cheek as those few minutes of remembrance had occurred. It was the first time he had shed a tear ever since that fateful day. Since then, he had shut himself off from the world a bit, by taking on a serious 'all-business' manner to things. But every once in a while, little things managed to burrow into the surface and bother him, just like these memories were.

He didn't do anything though. He was simply too shaken up to even move a muscle right now. He felt broken, _changed_ in many ways. Despite Gilbert's reassuring words, Ludwig had changed into something he never really was. He was aware of this, and though he's tried multiple times to break free of it, he can't ever seem to be able to return to his old self again.

This 'paralysis' of sorts always happened to him. At least, whenever something as life-changing as that managed to get under his skin. He became frozen, lost in thoughts he would never even consider worrying himself about on a regular basis.

This time, however, he was not alone.

A pair of arms gently wrapped around him from behind, catching him off-guard and causing him to half-snap out of his stupor to look over and catch a glimpse of the person out the corner of his eye.

Feliciano Vargas.

The ditzy Italian man who acted like a child wherever he strode upon. The auburn-haired ally looked up at Ludwig with wide, concerned amber eyes. The frown Ludwig wore was only the tip of the iceberg that proceeded to rock uncontrollably as the emotions he was feeling were tossed around, as if they were weightless at the sight of the rare look of concern his friend wore. The Italian couldn't look him in the eye for long, as he quickly burrowed his head back into his back as he muttered something to him.

"Ve~ Y-You looked so sad, Ludwig. I don't want you to be though… I can't bear to see that pained look on your face anymore."

The German man was shocked by how his friend sounded. He was so serious… so… desperate. He couldn't say anything in reply though. He was quite literally paralyzed.

"W-was it the others?"

Silence, once again.

"Don't be upset~ They just… probably don't understand that, well to me at least, that… you're a really good person and a friend~! And even if they _did_ hate you for some strange reason… I'll always consider you my friend~!"

He smiled his usual, ditzy smile again and continued to hug his friend. Ludwig found himself relaxing a bit, and forced his hand to awkwardly place itself on Feliciano's upper back. The Italian took that as a sign and proceeded to weave his right hand in Ludwig's free hand, only to grab his pinkie with his own and hold it up to show him.

"And I'm your friend too~ We'll always be friends, you see? Because we made a promise, right? Best friends forever! So there's no need to get upset over anything really! We'll always have each other, ve~!"

The German's cheeks were dusted with an almost unnoticeable shade of pink, before he suddenly let an awkward smile cross his face, "J-Ja. Friends… forever…"

If Gilbert had been watching in person, he would've probably made an Arsch out of Ludwig for being so sentimental all of a sudden.

But all thoughts of him were forgotten for a short while.

Feliciano proceeded to laugh loudly and link his arm through Ludwig's as he exclaimed with a huge smile, "Ve~ Now, let's go and make some pasta or at least something that _doesn't_ involve smashing barrels of beer over people's heads, okay~?"

* * *

_**A/N: WOO~ Once again, I got bored in Math.**_

_GOOD GOD, I WRITE TOO MUCH GERMANY-RELATED STUFF xD  
This is my third fic already D:_

_He's so lovely to write about though ;w;_

_PSSHHH. Civics summative?  
What Civics summative?  
*Slapped*_

_Oh gosh, the ending to this was so lame w_

_But I don't really care right now~_

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS:**

_**Bruder:**__ Brother_

_**Schere, Stein, Papier:**__ Scissors, Rock, Paper._

_[The same as the game Rock Paper Scissors or Ro-Sham-Bo]_

_**Arsch:**__ Ass, Arse, ect._

_**Das ist ein Abkommen:**__ That's a deal._

_[I'm unsure of this one... correct me if it's wrong~]_

_**Nein:**__ No_

_**Es tut mir leid:**__ I am sorry/I'm sorry_

_**Vor dem Tod sind alle gleich:**__ Death is no respecter of persons_

_[Also not sure about this one, but I love the way it's worded. Correct me if I'm wrong, once again~]_

_**Halt die Ohren steif:**__ Keep a stiff upper lip_

_[Basically the same as 'Keep your chin up'. Not too sure about this one as well...]_

_**Bitte:**__ Please_

_**Mutter:**__ Mother_

_[Mutti is the informal/casual variant of this term]_

_**Vater:**__ Father_

_[Vati is the informal/casual variant of this term]_


End file.
